Self Image

When looking at the overall theme of the work I create, it generally falls along the lines of feminism, self image and the male gaze. My artistic creations almost always have a female body as the subject, and often times it is my own. For this performative piece I wanted to take self image one step further, and incorporate a physical act that has to do with the way I perceive myself, and the way other women perceive their own bodies in today's generation.

My fluxes score reads: 

1. Stand in front of a full length mirror. Gaze at your own figure and the details of what you are seeing in front of you. 

2. Apply lipstick to your lips, and kiss the mirror outlining the areas of your body in the way you perceive them 

3. Stand in front of the mirror once again and gaze at your reflection through the image and obstruction you have created with the kiss marks. 

Janine Antoni was my biggest inspiration in creating this piece. Her performative pieces and sculptures also have a lot to do with self image and her own body, much like my artistic practice. In her two pieces titled "Lick" and "Lather" she essentially deconstructs sculptures she made of her self by using her own body. They are two different busts, one is made out of soap and one is made out of chocolate. The one made out of soap, she took a bath with and rubbed her hands along the sculpture, washing and cleaning it while also destroying it as it became smaller and less defined as the water washed the soap away. In the piece titled "Lick" she created a chocolate bust self portrait sculpture purely out of chocolate, and licked it which was also a contrasting act of self destruction and self love. 

For my piece, I want to embody this same idea but looking at myself in a mirror and examining ever

ything I see in the mirror. The piece will take place in the corridor outside of the woman's bathroom on the second floor of moulton where there is a full length mirror. I will look at myself in the mirror, apply lipstick and begin to kiss the outline of my figure on the surface of the mirror, repeatedly applying the lipstick. The lipstick is a beauty product that is often used as a cliche for seduction (kissy faces, kiss lips, red lips on marilyn monroe, blowing kisses) as the act of kissing is also a loving, caring act. I am also fascinated by the act of kissing and what it means to act upon it and witness it. It is often times an uncomfortable act to witness, due to the intimacy of it. In Jedediah Johsnon's photo project, she captured photos of people right after they made out and made a series of it. In my piece, instead of making out with someone I will be both kissing myself and kissing an intimate object which is also unconventional to witness.

By me kissing the mirror where my body is outlined when I stand in front of it, is an loving and caring act that I am doing to the reflection that I see in the mirror. 

http://www.art21.org/images/janine-antoni/lick-and-lather-detail-1993

http://www.artnet.com/magazine/FEATURES/saltz/saltz10-2-4.asp

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rocor/5593285175

https://flavorwire.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/makeout.png